NZ leader calls for cool heads on whaling
Updated
Mr Key has called for "cool heads" when it comes to anti-whaling protests in the Southern Ocean (Australian Customs Service: File photo)
New Zealand prime minister John Key says there is a limit to how far anti-whaling protesters should go in the wake of activist Peter Bethune's sentence.
Bethune is preparing to return to New Zealand after receiving a suspended sentence for illegally boarding a Japanese whaling ship in the Antarctic nearly five months ago.
The 45-year-old faced charges ranging from assault to carrying a weapon.
The New Zealander was found guilty of assaulting a crewman with a rancid butter bomb during clashes with the whaling fleet.
The chief judge told Bethune his actions on the high seas against the Japanese whaling fleet were reckless.
Mr Key has called for "cool heads" when it comes to anti-whaling protests in the Southern Ocean.
He says New Zealand wants to see an end to whaling in the Southern Ocean, but there are limits to how far protesters should go.
"We strongly believe that these kinds of actions will ultimately lead to a loss of life if we're not careful," he said.
The Sea Shepherd anti-whaling group says banning Mr Bethune from the group was a legal strategy during his trial and he is welcome to join future missions.
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